To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed the entire object, paste this HTML in websiteTo link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed this page, paste this HTML in website

Writing across the curriculum : high school teacher handbook.

Writing across the curriculum : high school teacher handbook. - Page 57

HOW CAN I HELP MY STUDENTS WITH THEIR SENTENCE STRUCTURE?
Often student writers alternate between repeating familiar sentence patterns in an effort to be safe and
creating awkward sentences as they struggle to clarify their ideas and make their writing flow. Teachers can
help students avoid repetition and make informed choices about sentence structure by engaging them in
conversation about their own sentences and demystifying the process of creating complex sentences.
WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER HANDBOOK 55
Modeling
Teachers can model a variety of ways to modify
sentence structure. Clouse ( 2001) advises students to
experiment with different sentence openers such as a
descriptive word, a descriptive phrase, a subordinate
clause ( such as, “ Before you contribute to a charity…”),
the word “ to” and infinitive verb ( such as “ To
protect…”), or the subject of the sentence. She also
recommends that students vary the placement of
transitions so that some come at the beginning of
the sentence, some in the middle, and some at the
end. Finally, she suggests that students maintain flow
by using parallel construction. This means that series
items are written in the same grammatical form
( for example, “ The offensive television commercial
insults women, glamorizes drinking, and diminishes
the importance of the family”).
Sentence Combining
Research supports the use of sentence combining
activities as an effective way of helping students
make thoughtful choices about the sentences they
construct, both as individual sentences and as part
of paragraphs and compositions. In sentence
combining activities, students are given short pieces
of text ( words and phrases or choppy sentences)
with instructions to combine the pieces of text to
make effective sentences. As Strong ( 2001)
suggests, the point of sentence combining is
“… to make good sentences, not long ones” ( p. 16).
The process helps students see that they have
the power to manipulate sentences for specific
purposes. For example, students may be given the
following short sentences ( Strong, 2001, p. 42):
Overdoses of growth hormone can cause
acromegaly.
Acromegaly is called Frankenstein’s syndrome.
This condition distorts the face.
This condition distorts hands and feet.
This condition eventually leads to death.
Students may come up with a sentence such as the
following: Overdoses of growth hormone can cause
acromegaly, also called Frankenstein’s syndrome,
which is a condition that distorts the face, hands,
and feet and eventually leads to death.
Strong suggests that one way of doing this is
for the teacher to give students sentences from
a professional piece of writing which has been
“ decombined” into simple sentences. Students
can then compare their sentences with the original
text as well as sentences created by other students
and discuss the effectiveness of each. He also
advocates the use of sentence combining cues
( for example, students can be instructed to try to
use the word “ what” to begin the first cluster, they
may be given specific instructions to separate two
main clauses with the word “ but,” or the teacher
may provide blank lines to suggest a particular
pattern for the sentence). Finally, Strong suggests
that the teacher can take a well- written text
produced by a student, and ( with the student’s
permission) break it into kernel sentences for an
in- class sentence combining exercise. This has
the added benefit of reviewing course content.
Encouraging Students to Use
Active Voice
Although English teachers have made it seem that
sentences should never be written in passive voice,
that is not the case. However, the use of active voice
often strengthens the voice of the writer, increases
the intensity of the action, and promotes the
addition of details. Raimes ( 2002) explains that “ In
the active voice, the grammatical subject is the doer
of the action, and the sentence tells ‘ who’s doing
what.’ The passive voice tells what is done to the
subject of the sentence” ( p. 323). Atwell ( 2002) gives
the following example of a passive sentence: “ Play
scripts were passed out and roles assigned.” She
reworks this timid sentence to make it stronger as

HOW CAN I HELP MY STUDENTS WITH THEIR SENTENCE STRUCTURE?
Often student writers alternate between repeating familiar sentence patterns in an effort to be safe and
creating awkward sentences as they struggle to clarify their ideas and make their writing flow. Teachers can
help students avoid repetition and make informed choices about sentence structure by engaging them in
conversation about their own sentences and demystifying the process of creating complex sentences.
WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER HANDBOOK 55
Modeling
Teachers can model a variety of ways to modify
sentence structure. Clouse ( 2001) advises students to
experiment with different sentence openers such as a
descriptive word, a descriptive phrase, a subordinate
clause ( such as, “ Before you contribute to a charity…”),
the word “ to” and infinitive verb ( such as “ To
protect…”), or the subject of the sentence. She also
recommends that students vary the placement of
transitions so that some come at the beginning of
the sentence, some in the middle, and some at the
end. Finally, she suggests that students maintain flow
by using parallel construction. This means that series
items are written in the same grammatical form
( for example, “ The offensive television commercial
insults women, glamorizes drinking, and diminishes
the importance of the family”).
Sentence Combining
Research supports the use of sentence combining
activities as an effective way of helping students
make thoughtful choices about the sentences they
construct, both as individual sentences and as part
of paragraphs and compositions. In sentence
combining activities, students are given short pieces
of text ( words and phrases or choppy sentences)
with instructions to combine the pieces of text to
make effective sentences. As Strong ( 2001)
suggests, the point of sentence combining is
“… to make good sentences, not long ones” ( p. 16).
The process helps students see that they have
the power to manipulate sentences for specific
purposes. For example, students may be given the
following short sentences ( Strong, 2001, p. 42):
Overdoses of growth hormone can cause
acromegaly.
Acromegaly is called Frankenstein’s syndrome.
This condition distorts the face.
This condition distorts hands and feet.
This condition eventually leads to death.
Students may come up with a sentence such as the
following: Overdoses of growth hormone can cause
acromegaly, also called Frankenstein’s syndrome,
which is a condition that distorts the face, hands,
and feet and eventually leads to death.
Strong suggests that one way of doing this is
for the teacher to give students sentences from
a professional piece of writing which has been
“ decombined” into simple sentences. Students
can then compare their sentences with the original
text as well as sentences created by other students
and discuss the effectiveness of each. He also
advocates the use of sentence combining cues
( for example, students can be instructed to try to
use the word “ what” to begin the first cluster, they
may be given specific instructions to separate two
main clauses with the word “ but,” or the teacher
may provide blank lines to suggest a particular
pattern for the sentence). Finally, Strong suggests
that the teacher can take a well- written text
produced by a student, and ( with the student’s
permission) break it into kernel sentences for an
in- class sentence combining exercise. This has
the added benefit of reviewing course content.
Encouraging Students to Use
Active Voice
Although English teachers have made it seem that
sentences should never be written in passive voice,
that is not the case. However, the use of active voice
often strengthens the voice of the writer, increases
the intensity of the action, and promotes the
addition of details. Raimes ( 2002) explains that “ In
the active voice, the grammatical subject is the doer
of the action, and the sentence tells ‘ who’s doing
what.’ The passive voice tells what is done to the
subject of the sentence” ( p. 323). Atwell ( 2002) gives
the following example of a passive sentence: “ Play
scripts were passed out and roles assigned.” She
reworks this timid sentence to make it stronger as